Out of the past: Dec. 17

1991

A counselor has been hired to coordinate drug-abuse prevention efforts in Cape Girardeau Public Schools; William J. Askew Jr., will begin work Jan. 2; currently, his is a counselor at St. Vincent's High School in Perryville, Missouri.

Religious sponsorship of Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau will be transferred from the Franciscan Sisters of Wheaton, Illinois, to the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau effective Jan. 1; Saint Francis will continue to operate as an independent, not-for-profit corporation.

1966

Marine Sgt. Albert S. Johnson, son of Ruby Johnson of Cape Girardeau, has been awarded the Air Medal while serving with Marine Aircraft Group 16 at Da Nang, South Vietnam; the award is made for each 20 combat missions.

W.D. Carney, District 10 Highway Department engineer at Sikeston, Missouri, says highway engineers plan to meet with Cape Girardeau city officials to reach a solution to the Highway 61-Cape Rock Drive traffic problem; a survey being conducted at the intersection is a topographical study that must be completed before a decision on the intersection is reached.

1941

As the government has announced that casualty lists of those killed or wounded in the present war won't be made public, The Southeast Missourian asks that relatives of soldiers, sailors and Marines, who may be lost or wounded in action, notify the newspaper when they receive official word from the government.

Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Payne of Illmo have been informed by the Navy Department that their son, Kenneth M. Payne, 23, is missing in action in the Pacific; a special meeting of the Illmo City Council is held in the afternoon to make arrangements for a public memorial service for Payne, the first casualty from Illmo in the war with Japan.

1916

Tag Day, which raises money for the Provident Association, was more successful yesterday than any previous year; an increase of over 50 percent was made over 1915, and the amount turned in to the committee in charge was $325.

The Rev. I.G. Williams of Eldorado, Illinois, who preaches two sermons at the Christian Church, has agreed to remain in Cape Girardeau and will preach Monday and Tuesday nights at the request of the pastoral committee.

-- Sharon K. Sanders